1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of bracket arrangements used with slotted wall systems and in particular to the field of bracket arrangements which are vertically oriented relative to a slotted wall system which slots are arranged in a vertical direction, in a horizontal direction, or any angled direction therebetween.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As relates to the present invention, the prior art is exemplified in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,088, entitled "Upright and Bracket Arrangement" issued Dec. 27, 1977. In this patent I pointed out that many of the prior art brackets and wall systems utilized uprights having vertically spaced notches for engaging the brackets. I further noted in the prior art that such brackets and upright support members had limited capability for adjusting the incline or the angle of the bracket for supporting an inclined shelf. Also, that the position of the bracket along the upright support member was restricted by the number of and the spacing between the notches and did not lock securely to the upright support members. In overcoming those problems of the prior art, I disclosed new and unique upright support members and bracket arrangements which utilizes a cam connector in conjunction with a pair of vertically spaced rods connected to and oriented transverse to the plane of the bracket. One of the rods fit within a vertical T-shaped slot of the upright support member while the other fits against the outside surface of the upright support member. The cam connector is also positioned in a vertically spaced relationship with the two rods and oriented in a similar transverse direction. When the cam connector is rotated it results in the outside rod fitting firmly against the outside surface of the upright support member and the inside rod fitting firmly against the inside surface of the cutout slot of the upright support member such that the bracket is securely connected to the upright support member. By simply angling the back edge of the bracket and the horizontal position of the rods, a bracket arrangement was disclosed which provides for mounting a bracket to an upright support member at any angle desired relative to the horizontal. By attaching shelves to the angled brackets, a shelf arrangement results having shelves which are also angled to the horizontal; or, the brackets themselves can be of the so-called "waterfall" type which do not use shelves but provide for hooking attachment of a number of items thereto in a downwardly angled manner.
While my aforesaid patent provided a bracket arrangement which provided a simple and secure bracket that may be positioned horizontally or in any downwardly slanted or inclined position, such bracket arrangement is generally limited for use with vertical upright support members. Today's decorators and interior designers are utilizing wall panels which incorporate slots in place of upright support members for use with brackets such that the entire wall panel becomes a shelving arrangement. Such wall systems provide a much cleaner and aesthetically pleasing look than a plurality of upright channels or support members fastened to a wall in a side-by-side array. Furthermore, the present-day slotted wall systems are not necessarily arranged in a strictly horizontal or strictly vertical direction. The slots are also provided diagonally at various angles relative to the horizontal or vertical. In some cases the slots may even be angled along two or more different diagonal angles. The use of my aforementioned innovative bracket arrangement functions very well with either the vertical or horizontal slots of the modern-day slotted wall systems but not necessarily so with the diagonally slotted arrangements. On the other hand, the previous prior art brackets are substantially inappropriate in many ways for use with the modern-day wall systems.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention of the present invention to provide an improved bracket arrangement which may be used with a slotted wall system having slots which range from the vertical to the horizontal and at any diagonal angle therebetween, whereby the plane of the bracket is along a vertical plane.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bracket arrangement which may be sloped at any downward angle relative to the horizontal and be applied to modern-day wall slotted systems.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bracket arrangement whereby a plurality of brackets may be oriented parallel to each other in a vertical direction regardless of the angle of the slots within a slotted wall system so as to provide a horizontal shelf.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bracket arrangement having brackets oriented along vertical planes within a diagonally or otherwise angled slotted wall system, yet which allows for ease of installation.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a vertically oriented bracket arrangement for a diagonally or otherwise angled slotted wall system which allows the location of the brackets to be easily adjusted on site, nothwithstanding the angle of the slots of the wall system.
The above-stated objects as well as other objects which although not specifically stated, but are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention, are accomplished by the present invention and will become apparent from the hereinafter set forth detailed description of the invention, drawings, and the claims appended herewith.